Are more letters after your name better or ridiculous?

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

I think it depends on the context, and what is relevant to your practice.

As a bedside nurse, I would list [my name] BSN, CCRN, RNC-NIC in my formal email signature, since my degree and areas of specialty (critical care and NICU) were pertinent to my practice. If I were signing a document at the bedside, I would say [my name] RN, since it's the license that gives me the authority to practice.

Similarly, as an NP, I use [my name] MSN, CRNP, CPNP-AC for formal email signature, since it shows my degree, license (legality to practice), and specialty (peds acute care). When I sign documents/notes for work, I include [my name] MSN, CRNP, since the license (CRNP) grants me practice authority.

Physicians are a little bit different because they don't have separate letters for their license--MD is the degree awarded, and using it presumes you're legally licensed to practice (which isn't always true). In nursing, our degrees don't necessarily correspond to our licenses--you can have RNs with ADNs, BSNs, MSNs, or even doctoral degrees.

I wouldn't go overboard and list every single thing just because you can, but I think it's perfectly reasonable for people to list the credentials that they've worked hard to earn and demonstrate specialized, *pertinent* proficiency. For me, that included my RN specialty certifications (CCRN, RNC) as a bedside nurse, and now my pediatric acute care specialty certification (CPNP-AC) as an NP.

I do fully agree with @klone: the only reason to include more than one degree in your title is if the degrees are from different fields. If you have several degrees from the same filed (I.e. nursing), you only list the highest degree. [name] DNP, JD, MHA, NP makes sense. [name] DNP, MSN, BSN, NP is just ridiculous.

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

Exactly. List the degrees and certifications that matter in a given setting/situation. Anything else is overkill. 

[klone, MSN, RN]

List the highest education degree first, for example, Michael Anderson, PhD, MSN. In most cases, one degree is enough, but if your second degree is in another relevant field, you may choose to list it. For example, a nurse executive might choose Nancy Gordon, MBA, MSN, RN. Note that the highest non- nursing degree is listed first followed by the highest nursing degree. A nurse who has a master's in a non- nursing field might choose Anne Peterson, MEd, BSN, RN. If you have a doctorate and a master's degree, omit your baccalaureate degree.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

Many also list certifications, which I guess is okay, to each their own, but nowadays so many have so much alphabet soup behind their names that the letters seem inconsequential 

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I say keep it simple.  If you are an NP, just do something like this:

Jane Doe, [DNP or MSN], [speciality]

In my case, it would be Jane Doe, MSN, PMHNP-BC

If someone has more certifications, they can list them on their resume in the appropriate place.

[djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP]

If they're just looking at this website for context, I just added the different degrees and fields as I obtained them through a 14 year career in nursing. So it definitely looks weird here. ?

[CuriousConundrum]

I only list the initial I'm legally obligated to list with professional signatures, APRN.  There are a number of diplomas and certifications available in healthcare, and most of us don't know what most of them are.  If you feel you need to explain the initial, don't list it.  I remember being a paramedic 20 years ago and guys adding initials for BLS or ACLS instructor to their documentation signatures.  I thought how laughable that was.  If you're an APRN, don't list RN because it's redundant.  Don't list BSN because it's irrelevant.  If you're certified in wound care, it's unlikely anyone else recognizes those initials anyway.  

[Snowranger19, MSN, APRN]

I really hate all the letters behind my name.  I try to get away with listing as little as possible because I find it just confuses patients.  My current employer likes to use MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC and I can't tell you how many conversations I have with patients (and co-workers) about what it all means.

I really wish we could just standardize:

Snow, NP  or Even Snow, PMHNP   (can we drop the -BC since everyone has to have it to practice?)

[CeciF, MSN, APRN]

I personally think it's ridiculous. It is an issue if the initials after the name are three times as long as the person's full name, e.g., Jane Doe, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN, CCRN, PhD, DNP, FSD, XEK, BBS

I really don't understand the reason for listing all the degrees, as well as RN *and* APRN (I see the latter often). I imagine the person wants everyone to know all the hard work they've put into their career, but we've all done a lot of stuff in our lives and 40 initials after your name is a bit too much. 

[Snowranger19, MSN, APRN]

I never understood the people that list RN and APRN.  

Nursing "leaders" also hilarious to me.  Sometimes they have so many credentials it takes a minute to even see what they actually are.  And if they have an MBA or other non-nursing degree, they usually list it also.

[londonflo]

FullGlass said:

I say keep it simple.  If you are an NP, just do something like this:

Jane Doe, [DNP or MSN], [speciality]

In my case, it would be Jane Doe, MSN, PMHNP-BC

If someone has more certifications, they can list them on their resume in the appropriate place.

Then why the BSN in you case.  Should be ....Full Glass MSN with whatever specialty  you  are clinically doing

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

londonflo said:

Then why the BSN in you case.  Should be ....Full Glass MSN with whatever specialty  you  are clinically doing

I do not understand your comment.  My example clearly stated:  [name], MSN, PMHNP [or whatever specialty].  As a nurse practitioner, I never said to include BSN.  For NPs, it should be MSN or DNP, whatever one's degree is.